Medical pre-screening shall be performed by a medically licensed person on all inmates prior to housing in a living area, in accordance with procedures established by CHS.
Medical pre-screening may include, but is not limited to, the following:
Any inmate who appears in need of or requests psychiatric attention shall be brought to the attention of CHS personnel. Any inmate who has been identified during the intake process as having emergent or urgent mental health needs will be expedited through the booking process. An inmate who exhibits an urgent or emergent mental health need or who verbalizes or exhibits self-injurious behavior or suicidal intent shall be under unobstructed visual observation or in a suicide resistant location with safety checks conducted every 15 minutes. Refer to CDM section 5-01/050.00, “Handling of Suicidal Inmates,” for additional procedures.
An urgent or emergent mental health need is behavior that indicates immediate action is required to preserve life, prevent serious bodily harm, or relieve significant suffering.
“Unobstructed visual observation” is continuous but not necessarily uninterrupted observation within a reasonable physical distance of the inmate. While maintaining unobstructed visual observation, custody personnel are permitted to perform other routine tasks if the at-risk inmate(s) remain in view with clear sight lines. A “suicide resistant location” is an area or housing assignment where known or apparent suicide hazards do not exist or have been removed.
Any inmate who has given birth within the past year and is charged with murder or attempted murder of their infant shall receive mental health screening pursuant to Title 15 section 1207.5, "Special Mental Disorder Assessment."